Dembele scores but Peterborough United are defeated by Derby County

Dembele netted after just two minutes with a sweet left-footed strike after Posh came out of the traps quickly, putting pressure on the Rams defence.

But Derby levelled the scores through Louie Sibley, and Josh Shonibare finished off a slick counter-attack to give the Championship side a 2-1 victory.

It had all started so well for Posh with Dembele delivering early on.

However, Sibley didn't wait too long to get Derby back on level terms after former Posh front man Jack Marriott was denied a shooting chance by the retreating Nathan Thompson.

Mo Eisa was denied by a stop from Kelle Roos after letting fly from 25-yards, while George Cooper fired over from a free-kick and Dembele saw a shot blocked.

Christy Pym made a smart reaction stop to keep out Marriott from close range, while the same duo battled again just before the break with the Posh shot-stopper again coming out on top, pushing a curler from just outside the box away to safety.

Derby made 11 changes at the interval and got their noses in front when Shonibare slid the ball past Pym.

Eisa saw a shot whistle just past the post at the other end, while Idris Kanu poked narrowly wide after linking well with Eisa down the right.

Derby, who had Wayne Rooney watching on from the sidelines, pushed for a third but Posh defended stoutly.

In the past 24 hours, the majority of the Posh squad have now got 90 minutes under their belt, although Dembele, Louis Reed and George Boyd were forced off before the conclusion with knocks.

Posh: Pym, Mason, Thompson, Cartwright, Blake-Tracy, Kanu, Reed (sub Barker), Boyd, Cooper, Eisa, Dembele (sub Rolt).